Destination Unknown

Any of you who know me personally know that I love hiking. I've been on a quest to visit all of the National Parks, and am up to 41 U.S. and one Canadian now. On my second National Park trip years ago, one of the parks on the itinerary was Yellowstone National Park. There is so much to see and do there, but the main things that we wanted to see were Old Faithful, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Morning Glory (or so we thought). It wasn't until several months after we returned home that we realized we missed one of the most stunning things to see there, the Grand Prismatic Spring. The best laid plans don't always end at the most favorable destination.

Sometimes we do the same as Christians, don't we? We get focused on one particular path, one destination, and miss the bigger picture. We miss the point. We end up at a destination of our choosing that pales in comparison to the more favorable destination that God had planned for us.

God's plan for our lives is meticulous, it's full of purpose, and it's far grander than anything we could ever dream up with our finite minds. And yet, what do we do? We say, “okay, God, I know you have a plan for my life, so let me just rummage through all of my own knowledge, all of my own abilities, all of my own strength and see what I can do to make this happen.” Or worse yet, we say, “okay, God, I know you have a plan for my life, but it's a little uncomfortable, and I don't really understand it, so how about I just remove that part, and insert this part, and eliminate this, while I go after that?” We fail to remember that anything God calls us to do, any plans He has for us, He gives us the tools necessary to complete it. We just have to trust Him, and take one step at a time.

Before we were even born, God already had plans for our lives; He had an assignment (or assignments) for each and every one of us. All throughout the Bible we see the most unlikely and unequipped people that God calls to do something that may seem crazy to us, but it worked for His glory. He called Noah to build an ark. He called Moses to lead the Israelite's out of bondage. He called David to fight a giant. He called Mary to give birth to the Messiah. And the list goes on and on. God asks us to do seemingly impossible things, not so that we can brag of our accomplishments, but so His power can be displayed.

I read a quote that said, "If what you sense from God never contains anything that surprises you, you're probably making it up yourself". -Jan Johnson If we are sitting at home in our bubble of safety, or wandering through life with no clear direction, and not listening for God's prompting of what He wants us to do, then we are missing the whole point; we are missing our destination, we are missing our Grand Prismatic Spring.

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

Questions: What do you feel God calling you to do? What are some small steps you can take in obedience today?